Masaki the Teddy Bear!
by LittleMaeChan
Summary: It's a friday night at Sun Garden and Kariya Masaki feels a little moody. Can a simple little girl with her teddy bear become his new friend? An Inazuma Eleven Go one-shot.


Author's Note: Hello! This is my first one-shot I'm actually publishing, and I hope you'll like it! (It's a little short but this was just a little idea that I felt like writing down!)

Warning: I own none of the characters from Inazuma Eleven (GO) except for the OC in this one-shot. Thank you and enjoy!

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"Kariya, would do you like some more pasta?" A tall woman with waist-length hair smiled at the teenage boy below her, pointing at his empty plate. The said boy had an unpleasant expression on his face, as if someone pushed his buttons a little too far.

"Nah, thanks." Kariya replied, directly exhaling a sigh afterwards. He turned his head around to look at one of the largest windows, his head resting on his hand. Almost every night was like this at Sun Garden—everyone around a table eating dinner with grins on their faces. He felt like he was the only one who disliked it, not all the time, but right now he was moody. It's even worse when the younger children scream or cry. It gave him a headache, and wondered how he managed to ignore it years before.

"What's with that sour face?" A man's voice interrupted Kariya's daydreaming, causing the latter to prop his head upwards towards the voice. It was Hiroto, a guy who often comes to help Hitomiko with the kids at Sun Garden. Although that's not all he was, Kariya had respect for him, he was part of Inazuma Japan after all and a great football player. The boy looked up to the man, secretly. He also used to be an orphan too at this very orphanage long ago, and grew up as a successful business man with a happy life. It sort of inspired Kariya to be as good as him in his adult life.

"I'm just tired," The blue haired boy replied, avoiding eye contact. "Really? Don't push yourself too much alright?" Hiroto replied, flashing one of his many smiles, and patted Kariya's head even when his frown intensifyed while doing so. He walked away to talk with Hitomiko, the very organized Midorikawa already standing beside her. Midorikawa was Hiroto secretary, and best friend. He was really kind, almost too kind. Kariya eyed them for a couple of seconds, until the greenette looked back at him with a smile. That was something he didn't really understand with people—they smile and smile and smile all the time, and although Kariya had many laughing fits before, he never managed to make a proper smile himself. A real one with emotion behind it, where he didn't need any effort to force his lips to curve. Another sigh.

"Ne, Kariya-kun!" a little girl with bright blue eyes and tiny pigtails tugged on his dangling jacket uniform, a teddy in her hand. Kariya leaned a little downwards to see the little one properly. It was Kimi, one of the new children who arrived to Sun Garden orphanage. Welcome to the club.

"Can you read me a bedtime story? Like yesterday, pwetty please?" She almost seemed like she was begging, clutching her teddy tighter on her chest. Kimi had trouble sleeping when she arrived, and since her bedroom was right opposite Kariya's, the boy decided to read her a little story until she slept. But really, it's because he couldn't stand her sobs. That same night he also had a little trouble falling asleep, and at first he wasn't sure what he heard, but it became a confirmation in seconds. The little girl was crying her eyes out. When he went inside her room, her face was all red and wet. He can never forget how she grabbed on him for comfort. Kariya couldn't leave her in that state.

"Sure. Should we go now?" She nodded as he got up, tucking his chair under the table. Kariya barely knew anything about her, but she seemed to be around five, with how small she was. Somehow she reminded him a little of one of his very own teammates, which made the teenager a little more eager to help her. Kimi was reaching for the older boy's hand, but she grabbed his forearm instead as they began going up the stairs. Surprised, Kariya looked at her but she didn't say a thing, and simply let it slide.

"Kariya-kun," The little girl broke the silence as they were in the dark hallway of the second floor. She skipped a little further forward, her pigtails dancing. "For tonight… Tell me your story." Kimi turned back around, Kariya's eyes widened. Did she mean, about his life? "I don't think you want to hear it. I know I don't…" Kariya whispered those last words, sliding his right hand in his pocket. "Aww…" Kimi whined while entering her room, lighting her pink night-light automatically.

"But I wanna know more about you Kariya-kun." She smiled, holding her teddy in a tight embrace once again. "You really love that teddy, huh." Kariya pointed at the bear, trying to change subject, sitting on one side of the little girl's bed. She grinned and swiftly nodded.

"Yeah! His name's Masaki!" Kariya raised his eyebrows by hearing the familiar name, while Kimi jumped under her duvet. "I named him after you," She added, placing it next to her, covering it with the soft sheets as well. "Because you're my hero, Kariya-kun!" Her smile was wide, while Kariya could only stare at her with his mouth slightly open from her sudden revelation. It wasn't such a big of a deal, but it made his chest warm and… Smile.

"Ah! Kariya-kun you're crying!" Kimi snapped, pointing at his face. Kariya touched his cheeks that were indeed wet with trails of tears, and quickly wiped them away in embarrassment. Crying in front of a five year old, really now... The little girl kept asking if he was alright, and he assured her he was fine at least five times now. There was a short silence, so calm the normally unaudible wind pushing against the window could be heard.

"But… Kimi-chan, what do you mean by, uh… 'I'm your hero'?" The teenager asked curiously, scratching his cheek with his index finger. Although he sort of had an idea, the boy was a little confused by her choice of words. The little girl giggled and replied: "You came to save me yesterday when I was crying!" Kimi landed back on her hello kitty pillow, and grabbed Masaki to hug him. "You didn't even know me but you came to help me..." slowly, the little girl took the bands out of her hazel coloured hair, placing them on her nightstand. Kariya looked at her with a softer expression, his eyebrows not so tense anymore. Deep down that litle girl reminded him quite a bit of his own self when he first arrived at Sun Garden. He distanced himself from others and spent most of his nights crying until exhaustion. Being rejected by his father had a massive impact on Kariya, and even if he barely knew anything about Kimi, she probably went through something similar. Kimi's little eyes already seemed to become too heavy for her, and Kariya came up with a conclusion.

"Fine, I'll tell you a story about myself, then." He grinned, straightening his back with pride meanwhile Kimi's eyes widened with stars in her eyes. "When I first joined the best soccer team at Raimon." His thumb pointed at his chest, his eyes shut with possibly trying to brag. Kimi positioned herself in a comfortable position, cheering for him to start.

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After three soft knocks on the door, the two adults decided to enter the room where a small wooden sign was written in pink highlighter "KIMI". Hiroto and Midorikawa wanted to talk with little Kimi since Hitomiko informed them she seemed to have some things on her mind. But what they saw was unexpected and heart-warming: A faintly lit bedroom with two children sound asleep on the only bed. Like two small angels, their face reflecting their innocence. They were both surprised how the usually mischievous Kariya had such a peaceful face while asleep. Kimi was lying beside him, a teddy bear tightly wrapped around her arms. The two males grinned at the adorable sight and synchronically glanced at each other with the same thought in head, and quietly left the room.

Talking can wait for now.

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Thanks for reading!


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